Joshua David Hawley, born December 31, 1979, in Springdale, Arkansas, and raised in Lexington, Missouri, is a Republican U.S. Senator from Missouri serving since 2019.[1][2][3] He graduated from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, earned a history degree with highest honors from Stanford University in 2002, and received a law degree from Yale Law School in 2006.[2][3][8] Hawley's early career included clerkships for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Michael W. McConnell (2006–07) and Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. (2007–08), followed by private practice in Washington, D.C.[1][2] From 2011 to 2015, he worked for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, co-counseling in Supreme Court cases like *Burwell v. Hobby Lobby* (protecting religious objections to contraceptive mandates) and *Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC* (safeguarding church hiring rights).[1][3][4] He also taught as an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Law.[1][2] Elected Missouri's 42nd Attorney General in 2016, Hawley pursued high-profile actions, including lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act, investigations into Governor Eric Greitens and opioid companies, crackdowns on human trafficking, and probes of Google.[2][4] In 2018, he defeated incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill to enter the Senate, securing reelection in 2024 against Lucas Kunce.[1][2] As senator, Hawley has championed populist conservative causes: protecting workers from Chinese trade practices and offshoring, confronting Big Tech and Wall Street, advocating online child protections, pushing direct COVID-19 payments, and defending First and Second Amendment rights.[3][4] He opposed Trump judicial nominee Michael Bogren in 2019 over alleged anti-religious views.[2] Hawley drew controversy for objecting to the 2020 election certification, raising fraud claims post-January 6 Capitol riot, where he was photographed raising a fist to protesters.[1][5][6] His term extends to 2030.[5]